Thursday, May 29, 2014

Image of brown egg with unhappy face surrounded by white eggs that appear to be excluding or making fun of the brown egg.

AlthoughIamaself-describedwhiteladyofexcellenteducationandmoderatemeans,Ifollowwithinterestdevelopmentsinethnicstudies,women’sstudiesandsocialjusticebecausetheysooftenresonatewithmyexperiencesasapersonwithadisabilityandaprofessionalintheareaofdisabilitystudies.ArecentarticleintheNewYorkTimes,“StudentsSeeManySlightsasMicro-Aggressions”(March21,2014)caughtmyeyebecauseindiscussinghowseeminglyinnocentcommentscanconveysubtle forms of discrimination, the author lead with:

Tonedeaf? Irealize
this isa commonfigure
of speech,but still.It
amazesme that anentire article
aboutthe expression of
micro-aggression viatheuseoflanguageinhighereducationcouldsoblithelyignore this obviousstereotyping
of deafness as equated with ignorance.

Cartoon of woman looking at a tall ladder labeled "men" and short ladder labeled "women" with caption "Corporate Whoppers"

Butlanguageisreallyjustthetipoftheiceberghere(nooffensetoicebergs).ManyofuswithdisabilitiesinprofessionalroleshavebeenwakinguptothefactthatjustbecausewehaveadvanceddegreesandknowalotaboutalotofstuffdoesnotmeanthatwehavesheddiscriminationlikeanunwantedChristmassweater(apologiestoAuntGladys).Infact,justaswithwomenandethnicminorities who have bangedtheir
heads firmlyagainst the glassceiling as theyclimb up theprofessionalladder,weareexperiencingaprofounddoseof“ouch”(evenmorepainfulforthoseofuswhomayhavemore
than one “minority” identity).

MaryRowe,inastill-relevantarticlepublishedin1990,“Barriers to Equality:The Power of Subtle Discrimination to Maintain Unequal Opportunity,”describeshowovertprejudicehasbeenreplacedbymoresubtleformsofdiscriminationthatnurturepersistentinequalitiesineducationandtheworkplace.Eventhoughblatantlytellingsomeonethatthey have beendenied promotion becausethey
areawomanisnolongeracceptableintheUnitedStates,ashappenedtomymother-in-lawinthe1970’s,actual prejudice
still persists and results in the
same mechanisms of exclusion. WritesRowe:

“[Micro-inequitiesas]mechanismsofprejudiceagainstpersonsofdifferenceareusuallysmallinnature,butnottrivialineffect.Theyareespeciallypowerfultakentogether.(Asonedropofwaterhaslittleeffect,thoughcontinuousdropsmaybedestructive,oneracistslightmaybeinsignificantbutmanysuchslightscauseseriousdamage.)Micro-inequitiesworkbothbyexcludingthepersonofdifferenceand by
makingthatpersonlessself-confidentandlessproductive.”

Image of hand separating 1 green fish from several goldfish

IhavetoconfessthatIamstillmullingover(o.k.Iamstillmadabout)arecentexperiencethatbroughttheseissueshometome.Atthegrandgalaofarecentconferencefocusedondisability,Isecuredmyusualtableupfrontnearboththestageandmyassistivelisteningdevice.Forthoseofyouwhodon’tknowme,Iambothlegallyblindandseverelyhardofhearing(akadeaf-blind),andIamalwaysworriedaboutmissingsomething,whichisfruitlesssinceImisshalfofeverythingnomatterwhat.Anyhow,Ikeptwaitingforsomeonetojoinmeatmytable.Iknowotherpeopleareoftenshy aboutsittingupfront.AndIknowmywheelycolleagueslikelycouldn’tevengetupfront.ButIobservedasthetablesaroundmefilledwithpeople.Andnoonesatdownatmytable.DoIhavelice?Iwondered.Istherefoodinmyteeth?Theconversationalbuzzaroundmeincreasedaspeopletalkedandlaughed,andthereIsatalone.Ipeeredaround,tryingtorecognizesomeonethatIknew.Iknewpeoplethere,butIcouldn’tseewheretheyweresittingandnooneapproachedme.Awaveofisolationandlonelinesssettledin.Thentheprogramstarted,andthespeakerstalkedaboutinclusion,andaccess,andrecognizingdiversity,andIdidn’tknowwhethertolaughorcry.Iputonmydarkglasses,justincase.FinallyIhadenough.Igatheredmythings.ThenInoticedasignonthecenterofthetable,“Reserved.”Reserved?Reservedforwho?Forme?Specialme?Surelynot.Whoeverthetablewas reservedfor, they didn’tshow up

Whetheryoucallit“micro-aggression,”“subtlediscrimination”or“micro-inequalities,”theimpactofbeingtreatedwithdisrespectorevenjustlackofawarenessisdamagingtotheindividualandhardtoprove.Howdoyouconfrontandcorrectcolleagueswhotalkbehindyourbackabouthowyouare“arrogant”whenyouspeakyourmindaboutsocialjusticeissuesthatareimportanttoyounotbecausetheymakeyoulookprettybutbecausetoyoutheyareintenselypersonal?Whodoyoucomplaintowhenyousitaloneatameetinginaroomfullofpeoplewhoassumethatisolationisyourchoice,wheninactualityyoucannotsee/hear/movetojointhem?Itiseasyforpeopletomakeexcusesthatshiftresponsibilityawayfromthemandontothepersonbeingdiscriminatedagainst:“Youneedtolearntotonedownyouropinions,”or,“Oh,thatwasunintentional.”Butoneafteranother,these“mi-croevents
build up into one giant iceberg that blocks the path to success.

Itookthelibertyofsubstituting“peoplewithdisabilities”for“minoritiesandwomen”inanarticlepostedbyBowlingGreenStateUniversity,titled,“SubtleDiscrimination”.Theresultshighlightthestriking nature of discrimination, no matter the reason:

Condescension:theapparentrefusaltotakepeoplewithdisabilitiesseriously,asstudentsandcol-leagues, which is communicated throughposture,gesture, and tone of voice.

Rolestereotyping:the expectation of behavior that conforms to
the disability rolestereotype.Disablistcomments:expressionsofderogatorybeliefsaboutpeoplewithdisabilitiessuchasstatements of “inferiority,”“notintelligent,” and “notserious.”

Hostility:avoidance,expressions of annoyance,resentment,anger, jokes, and innuendoes.

Denialofstatusauthority:thecovertrefusaltoacknowledgeapersonwithadisability’spositionor their scope of authority (e.g., bypassing
the individual and going to their supervisor).

Invisibility:the failure to recognize the presence
or contributions of people with disabilities.

Doublestandard:differentialevaluationofbehaviorasafunctionofdisabilityattribution(e.g.,regardinganablebodiedperson’snon-academicexperienceas“enriching”andthatofapersonwithadisabilityas indicating
a “lack of focus.”

Tokenism:the discretionary
inclusion of one or few people with
disabilities.

Divideandconquer:theuseoftacticsthatmaximizethesocialdistanceofpeoplewithdisabilitiesfromeachother(e.g.,informingtheindividualthats/heissuperiortoothersoftheprotectedclassinability or achievement).

Cartoon with caption "Big elf discrimination suit." Lawyer is sitting next to a large elf, saying to a small elf "So its your testimony that you do, in fact, have a hiring policy that gives preference to exceptionally small workers?"

Facebook Badge

Hawai`i Convention Center, Honolulu

Welcome to RDS!

Welcome to the blogspot of The Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal. Published by the Center on Disability Studies at the University of Hawaii, RDS is a leading international peer reviewed disability studies journal. Our blogspot is a great place to discuss hot topics in the field of disability studies today!